Oncolytics Biotech has strengthened its leadership ahead of pivotal studies by appointing John McAdory as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Operations and Yujun Wu as Vice President, Head of Biostatistics. McAdory joins from CG Oncology, where he led late-stage development programs for oncolytic virus therapies, while Wu brings experience from Morphic Therapeutics, having overseen biostatistics through its acquisition by Eli Lilly and led Phase 3 oncology programs at Takeda. These hires complete a transformative executive build-out following Jared Kelly’s promotion to CEO and the addition of Chief Business Officer Andrew Aromando, both instrumental in Ambrx Biopharma’s $2 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. The expanded team also includes new Scientific Advisory Board members from Memorial Sloan Kettering and MD Anderson, positioning Oncolytics for accelerated global regulatory interactions and disciplined trial execution.

Oncolytics reported a 29% objective response rate (ORR) in third-line anal cancer, nearly tripling historical benchmarks in a setting with no approved therapies, with a median duration of response of 17 months. In second-line or later settings, pelareorep achieved a 30% ORR—more than double the 13.8% benchmark for standard immunotherapy—with a median response duration of 15.5 months versus 9.5 months for standard care. The company has secured FDA alignment on its Phase 3 trial design in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer, making it the only immunotherapy registration study planned for this indication. These results and regulatory milestones underpin Oncolytics’ strategy to pursue accelerated approval pathways and position pelareorep as a potential new standard in gastrointestinal oncology.